


Lost

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-02-20
Updated: 2002-02-20
Packaged: 2019-05-30 21:04:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15104858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: CJ and Toby's plane crashes in the Andes.





	Lost

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**Lost**

**by:** Rhonda Dossett 

**Disclaimer:** The normal disclaimers apply. The characters are not mine and never will be.

**Category:** CJ  & Toby

**Spoilers:** Minor possible spoilers up to and including "Indians in the Lobby"

**Rating:** PG

**Author's Note:** This story is centered around a plane crash. No terrorist activity is involved and it is not meant to represent any current events. But readers who are particularly sensitive to mentions of plane crashes might want to give this story a miss. 

Cold 

She was so cold. 

Slowly, as CJ regained consciousness, she remembered the crash. The night before flashed in her mind like a disjointed slide show complete with sound effects. 

CJ heard the desperate pilot trying to radio for help and getting no response. She heard the words 'mechanical difficulties' and 'loss of power.' 

She saw the Andes all around them, then a single mountain immediately ahead, and then the rushing trees. 

The loud screeching sounds of ripping metal still echo in her ears. 

She remembered the plane tumbling, then nothing until the cold nudged her awake. 

Opening her eyes she looked around the crumpled interior of the small plane. Early morning light was seeping into the interior, illuminating the disaster inside. Half of the plane's cabin had been ripped away. The right side was gone. 

Looking toward the front of the plane, she saw that the windshield was also gone. Snow was blowing inside coating the scattered luggage and debris. The pilot was slumped in his seat. His neck was at an impossible angle. The copilot was gone along with the other half of the plane. 

The plane was tilted on its remaining side. 

Wiping blood from her eyes and releasing her seat belt, CJ crawled upward to the isle avoiding the sharp edges of twisted metal. 

Last night Toby had been sitting across from her typing on his laptop, complaining about being sent on the advance trip. Now there was nothing but air and snow where his seat had been. 

Shouting into the frigid void, she called for him. 

Only the wind returned her words. 

* * *

Toby had been sitting absolutely still for hours waiting for daybreak. The first rays of light confirmed what he had only suspected before. He was one wrong move away from certain death. It was ironic that someone who hated nature and being outdoors as much as he did, had ended up in this situation. 

The good news was that he was alive and still strapped in his airplane seat. The bad news was that his seat was dangling from a tree limb, about 30 feet above the snow and rock covered ground below. 

He didn’t seem to be hurt but he couldn't remember ever being this cold before. Moisture from his breath had frozen on his beard and his hands and feet felt numb. 

During the night he had pulled his woolen neck scarf from his neck and wrapped it around the top of his head and ears. But he was still freezing since his sports jacket offered little protection from the icy winds that continued to rock him back and forth. 

He'd had a lot of time to think during the bitter night hours and he'd decided that his current situation was all President Bartlet's fault. Normally he would never have been sent on an advance trip. The Administration had numerous lower level lackeys who would jump at the chance to check out a foreign locale and the arrangements for a Presidential trip. 

Looking down at the ground below him, he thought maybe he should avoid using, or even thinking, the phrase 'jump at the chance.' 

The plain fact was the President was punishing him. Toby wasn't sure what CJ had done to deserve this trip, but he knew why he was here. In a heated discussion last week, he had accused the President of being too willing to buy into the latest environmental cause (rainforest preservation) at the expense of business and the campaign. 

In response, the President decreed that Toby obviously needed more first hand information about environmental issues, and in particular rainforest preservation. The next thing he knew, he and CJ and about a half dozen Secret Service agents, were at Reagan National boarding a plane to South America. 

Five plane changes and two days later he ended up here. Swinging from a limb. And from the looks of the all the snow and rocks around him, no where close to a rainforest. So much for gaining first hand information. 

Now he was absolutely certain that he hated the great outdoors. 

She was still cold but it was bearable since she had added a few layers. Rummaging through some of the luggage strewn about the cabin, CJ found a pair of men's hiking boots and heavy socks. The boots were a little large, but with the socks they weren't a bad fit. A couple of men's shirts and her own leather jacket completed her outfit. While buttoning up one of the shirts she spared a moment to wonder whose clothes she was borrowing and if she'd ever get to thank them. There was no sign yet of the other passengers. Except for the pilot still sitting in the remains of the cock pit, she was alone. When the plane had taken off from Quito, Ecuador there were 10 people on board including the pilots. Surely, there was someone else alive. There had to be. 

Trying not to think of the most realistic possibilities, CJ busied herself gathering some supplies. In the back of her mind she had already decided to set off on foot looking for other survivors, looking for Toby. 

She found an emergency kit packed in a nylon duffle bag stowed near the pilot. It contained a variety of items including: first aid supplies, flares, bottled water, water-proof matches, nylon rope, a flashlight and batteries, a couple of solar reflective blankets, a GPS unit, a compass, maps, etc. 

There was another bag strapped in the overhead bin. It contained more water, several metal pots with lids and wire handles, more matches, a folding knife, several spoons, two metal cups, an assortment of dried food packets, tea bags, and energy bars. 

CJ stuffed her purse into the food bag and slipped on her sunglasses. 

Grabbing both bags, she slung the strap of one over her right shoulder and held the other in her left hand. 

Climbing out of the plane CJ surveyed her surroundings. The remains of the plane was resting on a barren slope of about 30 degrees. The plane's slide had been halted by several Volkswagen sized boulders. About a foot of snow covered the ground. 

Up slope from plane the area was populated with tall trees and more boulders. In the distance she could see the end of the tree line, endless snow covered peaks and the areas too high in elevation for anything to grow. 

Turning around she looked past the plane, down the slope. Nothing but snow, trees, rocks, more rocks, and one broken plane wing. 

Taking the broken plane wing as a sign, she headed down the mountain. 

Getting down the slope wasn't as easy as it looked, CJ thought after sliding down much of the last 100 feet on her bottom. Standing up, she brushed the snow off again and picked up her bags. Briefly she thought about leaving one them or at least lightening the weight of the bags. But she was afraid of discarding anything until she had a better idea of how long she might be stranded. 

She had walked a couple of miles when she started seeing debris from the plane. Insulation and sheet metal decorated the scattered shrubs and hung from the trees like tinsel. Up ahead she saw part of the plane. Dropping the bags, she ran closer. 

Partially covered by snow and sandwiched between two boulders, she found the right side of the cockpit complete with strapped in co-pilot. For a moment, just a moment, she thought he might be alive. From a distance he appeared to be unhurt. He looked like he was just sitting there waiting for instructions from the pilot. 

Standing next to him, she saw the bluish skin tone and the fist sized indentation on the left side of his skull. He was dead. 

Maybe they all were dead. 

Suddenly she dropped to her knees, shaking. 

All the fear that she had been keeping at bay rushed at her. Everything she had been denying or avoiding thinking about crowded into her mind. The pilot and co-pilot were dead. The rest of the passengers were missing, probably dead. Toby was probably dead. She was going to die. Die on this mountainside in some unidentified country all alone. 

'Oh, God please help me!' she screamed. 

'You'll have to wait in line, I asked first,' Toby answered from above. 

Looking up, CJ scanned the trees. With some trepidation she called out 'Toby?' 

'Well it's not God,' a familiar, sarcastic voice replied. 

Taking off her sunglasses and walking around the immediate area, she failed to locate him. 'Where the hell are you?' 

'I'm closer to heaven. Look up. Up,' he directed. 

'Where?' she questioned in a puzzled voice, looking up into the trees. 

Gritting his teeth, he instructed her, 'Higher - look higher.' 

Tilting her head back, she finally located his lofty perch. 'Oh - my - God.' 

In a deceptively calm voice Toby answered, 'I thought we already covered that.' 

Ignoring his words, she continued to walk in a circle below him, while looking up. She opened and closed her mouth several times but no words came out. 

'Watch where you're walking you're going to fall over something!' he warned just as she tripped over a piece of metal. 

Kneeling on the frozen ground, she just looked at him. 

Shading her eyes with one hand, CJ finally found her voice again. 'What are you doing up there?' she asked croaked, wringing her hands. 

'Bird watching. What do you think I'm doing?' he grumbled. 

Angrily scrambling to her feet, she yelled at him. 'Toby get down from there, right now!' 

Frowning at her, he stated the obvious, 'I would love to but I'm still working on a plan whereby I not only get down but survive the journey.' 

'Can't you just, I don't know, just release the seat belt, grab a limb, and climb down the tree?' she asked hopefully. 

Toby in a sarcastic tone answered, 'First you thought I was God, now you think I'm a monkey? Did you hit your head in the crash?' 

Her eyes filled with tears at his words. 'For your information I did. See? Look here,' she demanded pushing up her bangs, exposing the bloody cut on her forehead. 

'Uh, CJ, I can't see that well from here. Maybe I could check out your injuries later?' he gently asked, finally starting to show a little concern at her uneven responses. 'Right now maybe you could help me figure out how to get down. Okay?' 

Nodding her head, she swiped her eyes and stared at the airplane seat caught in the tree limbs. 'What do you need? Besides a ladder I mean.' 

Looking at the large limb above his head, he reflected, 'Well a rope would be a big help.' 

'Wait here,' she ordered, running back up the slope and out of his sight. 

Grimacing, he shook his head. 'Where does she think I'm going?' 

The rope missed his hand again. 

' dozen or more throws and she hadn't even come close, CJ wearily considered. 

'Unless you get it up here, I'm never going to be able to climb down. You're going to have to throw it higher,' Toby yelled down. 

'Sure thing Rapunzel,' she muttered. 

'What? I didn't hear you.' 

'I said this isn't going to work, the rope is too light.' CJ replied. 

Frowning, he considered the problem. 'Okay, then tie some kind of weight to one end.' 

'Like what?' 

'Something about the same size and weight as a baseball,' Toby suggested. 

Looking through the bags at her feet, CJ failed to find anything that she thought would work. The flashlight was a possibility, but she was afraid she would break it. Plus, she didn't have a clue as to how she would attach it to the nylon rope. 

'Try a rock,' Toby yelled. 

CJ looked up at him and asked, 'How do I attach the rope?' 

'Do I have to think of everything?' 

'I would think you would have a higher degree of motivation, since you're the one stuck in a tree. So, yes.' 

'Put a sock in it.' 

'I beg your pardon.' 

'I said put it in a sock. Put the rock in a sock and tie the sock to the rope.' 

'That actually might work,' she said, sitting down and beginning to unlace one boot. 

'Will you hurry up, I can't sit in this position for much longer. My butt's numb.' 

She thought that he had certainly been a pain in her's. 'Give me a minute to put my boot back on. I'm not going to stand here bare footed in the snow.' 

Tying the rock-filled sock to the rope only took a few seconds. 

CJ cocked her arm back and threw it towards Toby's outstretched hand. 

'Ball one,' Toby heckled. 

'Shut up, and let me concentrate.' Gathering up the sock and rope again, she prepared to give it another try. 

'It would help if you didn't throw like a girl,' Toby commented. 

'You sorry son of a *****.' She leaned back and threw the rock as hard as she could. 

He caught it with one hand and grinned. 


End file.
